Washington is home to the largest tulip festival in the United States. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is a favorite spring event as a quick weekend adventure from Seattle, Bellingham or Vancouver, BC.
What is the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival?
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is an annual celebration of the tulip harvest. This festival is now in its 41st year as a month-long celebration. Most people will just visit one or more of the different farms to see the Skagit Valley tulips. However, there are other fun family friendly activities throughout the month. These include parades, barbeques, and a street fair. You can find the events calendar here.
When is the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival?
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival 2025 runs from April 1 through April 30th. This schedule can vary based on the peak flower bloom. You can find information on the bloom status on the official festival website.
Where is the Skagit Valley and how do you get there?
Skagit county is located just 90 minutes north of Seattle and an hour south of the Canadian border. The tulip fields are located just west of the Mount Vernon city center. The easiest way to access the festival is to travel by car. The large farms include free parking in the price of admission.
Which farms participate in the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival?
There are many tulip farms small and large where you can see the Mount Vernon Tulips. Entry tickets generally cost $18-20 for adults on the weekend with advance purchase. For a more specialized visit, some farms offer experience passes or a photography pass. These have different benefits which may include specialty access or early arrival access.
Roozengaarde
This is the largest tulip farm in the Skagit Valley, and by far the busiest, at any time of day. This farm has 50+ acres of flowers featuring over 200 varieties of tulips and daffodils. They also have a large display of tulip gardens at the entrance. Pets are not allowed here except for service animals. Tickets are all general admission Purchase your tickets here.
Tulip Town
While not as large as Roozengaarde, Tulip Town still has plenty to see. For a more adult visit, they have a beer and wine garden on site. They also have the option for reserved tickets or a visit anytime (added fee) ticket. The benefit of the reservation is it will help minimize overcrowding. New for 2024, dogs are allowed in the fields. Purchase your tickets here.
Garden Rosalyn
Just a short drive from Roozengaarde, this is the perfect place for anyone looking for a low key Washington tulip festival experience. This farm does not have the fields of tulips, but instead has beautifully planted tulip gardens. There’s plenty of space to lounge and have a picnics, or let your kids run free. Dogs are also allowed here. You can purchase tickets online, or at the farm, Parking is also extremely easy.
Other nearby options include:
What to know before you visit the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
The best time to visit the tulips in Mt Vernon is during the week (if you are able) to avoid crowds. On weekends, plan to arrive early in the day to avoid the rush. Traffic gets VERY heavy as these are essentially 2 lane county roads that get thousands of extra cars every weekend. Plan enough cushion into your day to include the extra time to get there and park.
Most farms have general admission entries and as such they are busiest mid-day and early afternoon. If the farm has an option for reservation that is recommended.
Bring appropriate footwear. Seattle (and Western Washington) is well known for the rainy weather from fall through spring. You may be visiting on a beautiful sunny day, but if there was rain earlier in the week, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter mud in the fields. This is still a farm after all. It’s best to bring waterproof or washable shoes. My favorites are Vessi waterproof sneakers.
Be respectful of the rules. You are not allowed to walk in the fields, you are only supposed to stay on the designated paths. However, the wanna be influencers ignore the signs and will be in the fields anyways. Please do not be like them. Stay on the path and respect the farm.
Drones are not allowed at the farms, so keep those at home.
How to make the most of your visit to the Skagit Valley
Your visit to a farm during the Skagit tulip festival will likely only last an hour to 90 minutes at most. Make the most of your day trip or turn it into a full weekend getaway by visiting these other nearby places.
Explore La Conner
Located 10 minutes southwest of the tulip farms is the charming town of La Conner. Situated right on the Snohomish Channel waterfront, there are tons of cute shops and restaurants.
Places to visit:
- Handmade La Conner
- Latitude-Longitude
- Pac-Norwesty
- Nasty Jack’s Antiques
- Skagit Valley Cellars
- La Conner Brewing
Visit Edison
15 minutes north of the Skagit Valley is the tiny town of Edison. This is a very small funky artist community.
Places to visit:
- Breadfarm
- Hedgerow
- Tweets Cafe
Visit Snow Goose Produce
If you are heading back south towards Seattle, take a detour to Snow Goose Produce. Only 10 minutes south of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is a great roadside market. Here they have tons of fresh local produce, seafood, wine, pantry foods, and housewares.
If you don’t have time to get up to Edison, you’ll find a selection of bread from Breadfarm here as well.
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival FAQs
Is Skagit Valley Tulip Festival free?
There are many free events happening during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, however you have to pay to visit one of the many tulip farms.
When is Skagit Valley Tulip Festival?
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival 2025 dates are April 1-30. There are events happening throughout the month. Check the bloom schedule in advance.
When is the best time to visit Skagit Valley Tulip Festival?
The best time to visit the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is during the week when there will be far smaller crowds. If you can’t visit on a weekday, then try to arrive early in the morning or at the end of the day.
Where is Skagit Valley tulip festival?
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival takes place in and around Mount Vernon Washington, which is about 90 minutes north of Seattle. There are many events happening in Mount Vernon, but the farms are about 10-15 minutes outside of the downtown area.
How to visit Skagit Valley tulip festival?
The Skagit Valley is not very accessible outside of the county except by car. Mount Vernon is about 90 minutes north of Seattle and 30 minutes south of Bellingham. The farms are not within walking distance of the Mount Vernon downtown.
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